Vico Merklein

Handcycling

"I don´t train every day for second place. My only goal is winning a gold medal."

Photo Credit: DBS

Born in Berlin, Germany in 1977, Vico Merklein suffered a life-changing motorcycle accident in 1997 that left him a paraplegic. Three years after his accident, Vico discovered his passion - handcycling. "It just gave me a feeling of self-confidence, the motivation to work for the goals in my life". After joining Team QUICKIE/SOPUR in 2007, Vico's competitive success began.

Part of the German national para-cycling team, Vico won a silver medal at the Paralympic Games in London 2012 and also set a world record in handcycling, achieving a marathon distance of 00:58:56. Since 2013, Vico has won a gold medal in the discipline time trail and road race at the German Championships and also a silver medal at the World Championships. In 2015, after intensive winter training, Vico was always under the first three at the World Cup races.

Because of his outstanding achievements, Vico is one of the most successful German athlete in handcycling - "This sport is my life. It's never easy, but that's the biggest challenge. I don´t train every day for second place. My only goal is winning a gold medal".